LONDON (MNI) – Sales on the UK High Street were stable in the year
to March although retailers reported again that they were disappointing
for the time of year, the CBI said Tuesday in its latest Distributive
Trades Survey.
In the latest survey for March, the CBI said that 33% of
retailers saw sales volumes up on a year ago and the same percentage
reported a fall, leaving the balance flat.
However, firms reported that sales were still low for the time of
year (-27%) and said that over the next month they expected both volumes
of sales -4 and volumes of orders on suppliers (-12) to remain subdued.
Judith McKenna – chair of the CBI’s Distributive Trades Panel
and the COO of Asda – said:
“It is encouraging that sales on the High Street are stabilising.
While we are still not seeing growth conditions have improved since the
end of last year.”
“However, the general retail outlook remains tough and firms
expect volumes of orders and sales to fall next month,” she continued.
“The squeeze on people’s pockets continues to bite, despite a
recent fall in inflation, with wage growth modest and fuel costs
remaining high,” McKenna added.
–London bureau: 44 20 7862 7492; email: dthomas@marketnews.com
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